Entries in Lola Cars
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The Lola-Drayson B12/69EV is a most unusual Le Mans prototype. It has a reputed 850 horsepower, but no piston engine. It is built around Lola’s current LMP1 chassis, but will not run in any races. Plus, the Lola-Drayson racer uses a new technology from BAE Systems that uses “structural batteries” to store electrical energy within the physical structure of a device.

Created to reduce the physical size and bulk of the electronics the modern soldier must carry, structural batteries merge battery chemistry into composite materials that can be molded into 3D shapes and form the structure of the device itself. Currently, the process makes use of nickel-based battery chemistry, but work is already underway on lithium-ion and lithium-polymer chemistries. It is not yet ready to replace the Lola-Drayson car’s battery pack with lithium-impregnated carbon composite bodywork, but the rear wing’s upper element and rear diffuser will utilize structural battery technology to power some of the onboard electrical systems. As the technology improves, this usage will increase.